


More Than She Wanted to Know

by LuvBusters



Category: The Real Ghostbusters
Genre: F/M, Language, sexual inuendo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:27:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22293310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuvBusters/pseuds/LuvBusters
Summary: After an electrical malfunction, Egon’s and Ray’s testing on Janine’s psychic abilities is cut short. At first, everything seems fine. But Janine soon realizes that she can hear the guys’ thoughts! Is it a blessing or a curse?
Relationships: Janine Melnitz/Egon Spengler
Comments: 3
Kudos: 18





	1. The Experiment

Egon and Ray had been making adjustments to a machine they wanted to use to test Janine’s psychic abilities. Peter had recently put her through a series of tests that he’s used and proven that her level of abilities is enough to warrant further, more in-depth testing. 

Ray came downstairs. “Janine? We’re ready if you are.” The sparkle of excitement in his eyes was hard to ignore. “It would be so cool if you’re psychic abilities are strong enough to use in our line of work!”

“Yeah, it’d be nice to have a heads up on certain things: who’s gonna get slimed on each call, where the ghosts actually are, and if anybody is gonna die,” Peter said casually with a tinge of sarcasm. 

Janine gave him a wicked grin. “Yeah! It’d also be nice to know other things like when the hell am I gonna get that raise?”

They all gave a hearty laugh with Peter sticking his tongue out at Janine. She in turn discreetly pushed her glasses back up her nose with her middle finger. She went with Ray up to the lab. 

“All you need to do is sit here and we’ll hook these electrodes to your temples,” Ray instructed. 

Janine sat down cautiously, her eyes scanning over the equipment. Sensing her anxiety, Egon stepped over and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. 

“It’s fine, Janine. We’ve tested it twice on Slimer. There were no adverse effects,” he said warmly. 

“Hmm, no adverse effects on a ghost. What about a living, breathing human being?” Janine asked.

“Well, we tried to get Peter to do it, but he said he had something more important to do,” Ray replied.

Janine laughed. “That must’ve been why he suddenly offered to help me do some filing!” Then a sudden thought occurred to her. “Am I the guinea pig?!”

“No! I ran the test on Ray,” Egon responded. 

“So, THAT’S what’s wrong with him!” Peter butted in as he entered the lab. Winston was with him. 

“I thought you were gonna answer the phone?” Janine said sternly.

“I cut on the answering machine,” Peter replied. “I’m not gonna miss the big show!”

Ray had everything set and ready. “Ok, here we go!”

Egon instructed Janine to take a deep breath and release slowly. He explained that he would ask her a series of questions and for her to answer honestly. 

“Have you ever had a premonition or dream that came true?” 

“Yes,” Janine replied. 

“What happened?”

“Two years ago, we got a call from the Mayor’s office. An employee had seen a ghost. As I was taking down the information. I had a wave of nausea hit me and I felt a cold chill. I told you guys to be extra careful on that call,” Janine recalled. Her anxiety level slightly increased. 

Ray was carefully watching the monitor. “Egon, she needs to watch her anxiety levels.”

“Yes, I remember that call,” Egon said, nodding to Ray that he had heard his comment. “Peter was injured on that one. And my pack overheated. That’s good, Janine. You’re doing very well. Now, take another deep breath and release it.” He spoke very slowly, his deep voice soft and soothing. 

Janine closed her eyes, breathing deeply then releasing. She opened her eyes and nodded. 

Egon looked back to Ray to see if Janine’s anxiety level had decreased enough to continue. Ray nodded and gave a thumbs up signal.

“What happens if her anxiety levels get too high?” Winston whispered to Peter. 

“The test results won’t be accurate,” Peter whispered back. “And, they don’t want her to have a panic attack while she’s hooked up to that thing.”

Winston gave Peter a look that said, “What the hell?”

Peter replied: “Slimer was a little too excited on one of the tests and he got a big jolt. They don’t wanna take a chance of that happening to Janine.”

Winston nodded. Then, he had another question, “What happened to Slimer after the big jolt?”

Peter looked at him with a mischievous grin. “Slammed him through the wall.”

They returned their focus to the testing. Egon was asking more questions, Janine responding calmly. Suddenly, the lights throughout the Firehouse flickered, then went out. Ray quickly started to save the test results while Egon started removing the electrodes attached to Janine. Peter and Winston ran down to the containment unit to make sure it was holding. 

A few seconds later, the power surged back on. Janine screamed as she felt a strong shock go through her. Egon quickly pulled off the electrodes, dropping them on the floor. The sudden jolt of electricity gave him a shock as well. 

“Janine! Are you alright?” Ray yelled. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. It scared me more than the shock hurt,” she replied. ”Egon, are you ok?”

“Yes, just got a shock from the electrodes,” he said. 

Peter and Winston returned to the lab soon after. “The unit is holding,” Peter said relieved. “You ok, Big J? We heard a scream.”

“Yeah, just felt like a shock went through me, but nothing majorly painful,” 

“Was that power surge something we did?” Ray asked. 

“I don’t think so,” Winston said. “While me and Pete were coming back upstairs, I heard on Janine’s radio behind her desk that there was a power surge that went through the block. They think it was the utility workers; they’re switching out power grids.”

Janine stood slowly to make sure she was ok. Egon held her by her arm to steady her. She smiled affectionately at him. 

“Thanks. I’m ok, I promise,” she said sweetly. 

Egon blushed slightly. “I think that’s enough testing for today.” 

“Yeah,” Janine said light-heartedly. As she was leaving the lab, she heard Ray say “I sure am glad she wasn’t hurt.”

Janine looked back at Ray and said, “yeah, me too.”

Ray looked at Janine, very confused. “What?”

“I thought you said something?” Janine asked. 

“Nope, not a word,” Ray replied casually. 

“Hmmm, ok! I’ll see you guys later!” Janine said before leaving the lab. 

A few hours later, Janine shut down her computer and bid the guys a good night. She had bought a new outfit at lunch and planned to wear it the next day. 

*****************************  
Janine came in the next morning wearing her new outfit. Her skirt was a deep purple and the top was black. The neckline was cut slightly lower than her other tops but still high enough to be professional. She wore black pumps. The colors really brought out her hair color and beautiful blue eyes. 

Peter walked downstairs as she was just getting to her desk. As she bent over to put away her purse, she heard “Damn! She’s got some great legs! Ass ain’t bad either!” 

She straightened abruptly, glaring at Peter. “WHAT?!” 

Peter stopped, looking at her as if she had grown an extra head. “Jeez, Red. What’s YOUR problem?”

“Didn’t you just say…..,” her voice trailed off. 

“I didn’t say anything!” Peter swore. “Scouts honor.”

“Yeah, like you were ever a Boy Scout,” Janine replied sarcastically. 

“Who pissed in your oatmeal this morning?! I didn’t say a damn word!” Peter retorted. 

Janine shook her head. “I’m…..I’m sorry, Dr. V,” she apologized. “I guess I just….never mind.”

Peter shook it off as well and continued to his desk.

Janine took her lunch and headed upstairs to the kitchen. As she was putting her lunch in the fridge, she noticed Winston sitting at the table. He was eating his breakfast and smiled. She smiled back as she was leaving the kitchen. 

“Morning Winston!” Janine said.

“Morning,” he mumbled with his mouth full.

“That’s a new outfit? Very pretty,” she heard him say. 

She turned to thank him but saw that he was looking down at his newspaper. She decided to keep quiet. On her way down the hall, she passed by the lab. 

“Janine?” Egon called. 

She stepped inside the lab. “Good morning, Egon,” she greeted him happily. 

“Are you ok? How are you feeling?” he asked, his voice thick with concern. 

“I’m good. No side effects or anything,” Janine said, trying to reassure him. 

“Good. I’m very sorry about what happened,” Egon said. 

“It’s ok, really,” she said, placing her hand on his arm lightly. 

Egon smiled, his cheeks blushing. “You’ll let me know if you start experiencing any odd effects?”

“I promise,” she said softly. Then she tiptoed and kissed him gently on the cheek. “See ya later,” she cooed. 

As she was leaving the lab, she heard Egon speak. 

“My goodness! She looks incredibly….what’s the word I’m searching for? Sexy? Yes, she looks incredibly sexy in that new outfit. I really need to get around to asking her out.”

Janine almost squealed in delight. She spun around to see that Egon had his back turned to her, already deep in thought with something under the microscope. She started to mention what she heard, but thought better of it. She returned to her desk, completely confused as to what was happening. 

The guys went out on a couple of calls that morning. While they were out, Janine mentally walked through everything that had happened. 

First, she had endured what Peter called “scientific” tests with cards. The cards had different symbols on them, and he sat across from her to see if she could predict what picture would show up next. 

“Aren’t those the same cards you used on girls back in college?” She asked suspiciously. 

“I used these on test subjects, yes,” Peter replied, trying to sound professional. 

“You’re not hooking me up to electrodes!” she demanded.

Ray and Egon had smiled at that comment. 

“No, I’m not hooking you up to anything,” Peter drawled, rolling his eyes. “Just got a few questions to start with. First, you’re pretty young; what are you -twenty-seven?”

She narrowed her eyes as he was writing down the information. “I’m twenty-SIX!” 

Peter’s eyes widened as he mocked her answer and erased what he had written down. “Second, any major health problems?”

Janine relaxed and sat back in her chair. “No.”

Peter wrote that down and then looked up, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. “Janine, are you currently…,”

“VENKMAN! If you ask me that question, SO HELP ME!” Janine’s eyes glared, her face turning red. 

“I’ll just put down ‘PMS’” Peter said out loud. 

Since he was looking down, he never saw the tissue box coming straight for his head. “OW! HEY!”

“Be thankful that’s the first thing I could get to!” Janine said. “If that’s all the questions, let’s get going. I’ve got shit to do!”

Peter went through the cards with Janine. As it turned out, she predicted what the pictures would be with nearly 95% accuracy. 

The only thing she could come up with was that maybe the test Egon and Ray had performed on her may have awakened some sort of additional abilities. She considered telling Egon but later decided against it, at least for now. Then, the thought occurred to her: if she can hear people’s thoughts, she could use this to her advantage! “Maybe now, I can FINALLY figure these guys out, especially Egon!” Janine smiled, feeling excited to see what she could find out.


	2. Indecent Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Egon and Janine go out to lunch, where she learns more about him than she thought.

The most important thing Janine wanted to know was why was Egon so distant when she could tell he had feelings for her? She decided that if she could get him to agree to a simple lunch date, maybe she could “hear” his thoughts.

As Ecto-1 pulled back in later, Janine’s head started pounding as all four Ghostbusters’ thoughts were hitting her at once. She stopped working, holding her head with both hands. She squeezed her eyes closed. 

“Janine! Are you ok?” Ray asked, concerned and rushing to her. 

The others weren’t far behind. 

Janine opened her eyes, looking at the guys gathered around her desk. “Nothing, just a bad headache. Hit me hard all of a sudden.”

“When was your last eye exam?” Egon asked. 

“About three months ago.”

“Maybe you just had too much coffee?” Winston suggested.

“Yeah, maybe. I’m on my third cup,” she admitted.

“Take a break and get yourself some water,” Peter said. “No more caffeine today.”

Janine grinned. “Why Dr. V! Is that concern I hear?”

Peter smirked. “Me? Pphhh, Nah, I just don’t wanna have to answer the phone if you leave early!”

As she went upstairs to get some water, she heard Peter’s thoughts: “I wish she’d take better care of herself. She’s the best at what she does here.”

Then she heard Winston say out loud to Ray: “I’m taking these traps downstairs. Why don’t you order some pizzas?”

“Sure!” Ray shouted back. 

As Janine was pouring out a couple of aspirins from the bottle in the kitchen, she heard Egon’s footsteps. 

“Ah, Good! You’re taking Peter’s advice!” he smiled. 

“Yeah. For once,” Janine replied. She took the aspirin and was on her way back to her desk with a glass of water. That’s when she “heard” Egon’s thoughts.

“Crumbs! Why am I so nervous around her? She obviously prefers my company. I’m sure she would agree to going out sometime? Maybe I’m overthinking this?”

Janine couldn’t help herself. She turned around and returned to the kitchen. She made sure to have an innocent look on her face. “Umm … Egon? Would you maybe …. wanna grab some lunch later? I mean, if you don’t already have anything to do?” She was surprised at how nervous she really was. 

Egon’s face lit up. “Why yes! That would be nice! Thank you!”

“Oh ok! I’ll be ready around twelve!”

“I know where to find you,” Egon smiled. 

Janine returned to her desk. Peter was coming back up from the basement. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “Did you take the messy jumpsuits down to be washed?”

“Yes, mom,” he replied sarcastically. As he went upstairs, he yelled back: “now I’m gonna get a shower.” 

As he headed on up, Janine “heard” Peter’s thoughts: “it’d be better if you were joining me.”

Janine spit out her water that she had started to drink. She looked up the stairwell, but he had already vanished. “Oh god!” she whispered. “Oh. My. God.” Her face had suddenly paled. 

Winston had been wiping down the inside of Ecto-1; some slime had gotten on the seats from that last call. He was wiping his hands clean with a cloth as he came up to Janine’s desk. “Hey girl! You feeling alright? You look like you’re gonna be sick!”

“I think I might,” she replied. 

“Do you need to go home?”

“Nah, I’ll be ok. Besides, I’ve got a lunch date ….. with Egon!”

Winston’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really?! Does he know it’s a date?”

Janine laughed. “Yes, he does.”

“That’s great! Have fun!” Winston then headed upstairs. “It’s about damn time he got his head out of his ass!” he thought to himself. 

Janine smiled as she heard his thoughts.

***************************  
Egon came downstairs promptly at Noon. He found Janine finishing up her work. The weather was nice so they decided to walk to a nearby diner. They were seated and their orders had been taken. 

Janine looked at Egon. He seemed quite nervous. She took a sip of her water as she tried to listen for his thoughts. 

“This is ridiculous! I’ve known Janine for years! There’s no logical reason for me to be this nervous!” 

She couldn’t help but smile. Janine decided to help him out. “I’m …. I’m a bit nervous!” She giggled. “I don’t even know why!” 

Egon seemed to relax after that. “Winston had mentioned earlier that you felt ill? Are you ok?”

“Yeah, just a wave of nausea. No big deal.” 

Their food arrived and they made idle chit chat. Janine wasn’t concentrating on what Egon had been thinking since she had been preoccupied with talking. But, they both were silent for a few minutes as they ate. It was then that she heard exactly what he was thinking. 

“I certainly am enjoying this. Being with her isn’t as nerve racking as I had thought. That will help make asking her out to dinner easier.”

Janine smiled as she drank her water. Then, she heard more.

“I wonder what the appropriate time frame is before suggesting intercourse?”

Janine almost choked but was able to get it under control. 

“Are you alright?” Egon asked. 

“Yeah, I’m good. Just went down the wrong way,” she replied, blushing. 

They continued their meal. Janine couldn’t look Egon in the eyes; she just stared at her food or looked out the window. Again, Egon’s thoughts kept coming through.

“Of course, it would have to be at her place. The bunk room is no place for that. Although Peter’s four post bed would be quite handy to use restraints on her limbs.”

Janine’s mouth suddenly went completely dry. She reached for her water. 

Egon became alarmed when he saw Janine’s hand shaking. He could also see beads of sweat forming across her hairline. “Janine, maybe you should go home for the rest of the day? Clearly, you’re not feeling well.”

“Maybe. I’m sorry for ruining our lunch.” Janine had to practically force herself to meet Egon’s gaze. She was relieved that he had suggested she go home. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to focus on her work. 

“That’s fine. We can always go out again; perhaps dinner?” Egon put emphasis on the word ‘dinner.’ 

Janine cleared her throat. “Yeah! Of course!”

Egon paid for their lunch, boxing up Janine’s portion that hadn’t been eaten. “There, now you have dinner for tonight!” He smiled as he handed the box to her. 

Their fingertips brushed together as she took the container from him. Janine’s face instantly flushed and her heart rate increased. 

As they returned to the firehouse, Janine headed to her car. “I’m sorry again Egon. But thanks for understanding.”

“No problem. Be careful going home. Feel free to call if you need anything,” Egon replied sweetly. 

“I will,” Janine smiled as she got in her car and started it up.

Egon went inside, Peter sitting at Janine’s desk, his feet propped up on it. 

“Enjoy your lunch?” Peter asked, grinning mischievously. 

Egon smiled. “It was nice, but she started feeling ill. So I gave her the rest of the day off.” He went towards the stairs. “I offered to take her to dinner soon.”

“Ahh, I’m sure she loved that idea!” Peter quipped. 

“Yes, she did seem excited.” Egon smiled, a very predatory smile. 

Peter saw it and just shook his head, laughing softly. “I sure hope he doesn’t freak her out,” he said to himself.


	3. The Results Are In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Janine admits the side effects she’s been having. And the guys admit something, too.

Janine got home as fast as she could. Not only was she able to hear the guys’ thoughts but also everyone else’s around her. It was maddening. She got a shower and settled into bed to rest. But her eyes were wide open. Her thoughts were too confused to be able to sleep.

“Could Egon actually feel that way about me?!” she wondered aloud. “I mean, obviously - I’m hearing his unguarded thoughts! But I had no idea he was into tying girls to beds during sex! We might need to discuss some things before we actually ….,” her thoughts trailed off. She was really starting to feel sick now. 

Later that evening, the phone rang. 

“Hello?”

“Janine, are you feeling better?”

“Egon?!”

“Yes, I know I told you to call, but I … I was … ahem … I was worried.” 

“Yeah, I’m feeling better now. But when I come in tomorrow, can I talk to you? I think I’m having some effects from that experiment.”

“Yes, certainly! Get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Thanks for calling. Good night, Egon.”

“Good night.”

****************************  
The next morning, Janine arrived at the firehouse. She was feeling better. She put up her purse and headed up to the lab. She saw Egon sitting at his work table looking at some notes. 

“Hi,” she said timidly. 

Egon looked up, smiling. “Hi! Come in!” He gestured for her to come in.

She walked into the lab and sat down on the couch. “Whatcha working on?”

“I’m just going back over my notes from our experiment the other day. I’ve been comparing your experience with what I recorded from Slimer’s,” Egon explained.

“Oh? Anything serious?” 

“I’m not sure yet. Why don’t you tell me what effects you’ve been experiencing?” He looked at Janine very seriously, ready to write notes.

Janine shifted uncomfortably before speaking. “I don’t know how to say this.”

“Just say it.”

She looked directly at Egon. “I can hear what everyone is thinking.”

Egon looked at her, his expression revealing slight hesitation. “By everyone, do you mean …?”

“Every. One. People on the streets, my neighbors that I meet passing in the halls, and you guys.” She watched Egon’s face, searching for clues of how serious this is.

Egon cleared his throat. “What am I thinking right now?” He looked at her with a stern expression, crossing his arms. He purposely let his mind wander to how he felt during their battle with Gozer.

Janine focused, staring at his face. “You’re remembering the day you guys faced Gozer. You were very afraid, but determined to beat it.”

Egon’s eyes widened. “Let me get Peter in here.”

“NO!” Janine didn’t mean to yell. “I mean, is that really necessary?”

Egon arched an eyebrow. “I would like for him to be in here, but if it makes you uncomfortable, we don’t have to. At least allow me to call for Ray? He is assisting me with this experiment.”

Janine nodded. 

Egon excused himself and left the lab. After a few minutes, he and Ray returned. However, Peter and Winston were with them, too.

Janine frowned. “Egon! You said just Ray?” 

“I did, but this is important enough for everyone to be here,” Egon replied. 

Janine fidgeted on the couch. “Alright, level with me. How bad is it, and can it be reversed?” She was becoming increasingly agitated. 

“We don’t think it’s anything to worry about,” Ray reassured her. “It’ll probably pass in a few days. What I wanna know is - what am I thinking?” Ray was trying to hide his excitement but it was still pretty obvious.

Janine rolled her eyes. “Great, now I’m some kinda side show.” 

“No! I don’t mean it that way! This is just very cool!” Ray explained.

Winston was leaned against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. “I told you guys that this experiment was gonna go too far.”

Janine looked even more upset. “What do you mean?! What’s wrong with me?!”

“Calm down, Red,” Peter said casually. “Spengs, explain it.”

“Why should I explain it?! It was YOUR idea!” Egon argued.

“No, this experiment was your’s and Ray’s idea. My idea is what we’ve been putting Janine through,” Peter admitted.

Janine jumped up, her face as red as her hair. “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!”

“Sit down and we’ll explain,” Ray said. “Just please don’t kill us?”

She sat back down, trying to figure out what was going on. 

“Why don’t you just read our minds?” Peter teased. 

Janine glared at him. “I’m too high strung to focus on it right now! Just TELL ME!”

Egon began. “We tried this experiment in Slimer first, then Ray.”

“Yeah, I know.” Janine snapped.

“Me and Slimer both experienced hearing others’ thoughts,” Ray confessed sheepishly. 

Janine’s mouth gaped open. “WHAT?!”

“Slimer reported that he could hear what we were thinking; so did Raymond,” Egon replied. 

“It went away after four days!” Ray added quickly.

“Wait a minute!” Janine said as she started remembering something. “You two were running experiments about a month ago. I remember Slimer being freaked out for a few days. Is this why?!”

“Yeah,” Ray admitted.

“So you KNEW this was gonna happen and you STILL put me through the tests?!” Janine’s temper was getting close to fuming.

“We did not anticipate the power surge,” Egon said defensively. “I would never knowingly put you in a position like that, Janine!”

She considered the fact that Egon looked extremely serious. She trusted him and knew what he said is true. “Did the surge happen with Slimer and Ray, too? Is that why they could hear people’s thoughts?”

“Slimer got zapped because his anxiety level got too high. It was something that we hadn’t thought would actually happen,” Ray said. “We knew a jolt could happen, but we never thought it would cause the ability to hear thoughts.”

“So that’s why you were concerned about my anxiety level? What happened to you?” Janine asked Ray.

“Slimer came flying into the lab looking for someone to play with,” Ray said. “He wasn’t aware that we were running the experiment. It startled me and caused my level to rise. I got zapped, too.”

Janine ran her hands through her hair in frustration. “Did it not occur to either of you to let me know that?!”

“I suppose not,” Egon mumbled while Ray shook his head. 

“Ok, so another couple of days and this ability goes away?” she asked warily.

“Right! Slimer and me both stopped hearing thoughts after four days!” 

“Anything ELSE happen that I MIGHT need to know?!”

Both men shook their heads. 

“So, you let me hear things you were thinking on purpose?” She glared at each man.

“Hey, I had nothing to do with this!” Winston said, holding up his hands. “After they told me about all of this, I tried to warn them not to mess around! I just can’t believe Pete got Egon to go along with it!”

She turned on Peter next. “So, this was YOUR bright idea?! I shouldn’t be surprised. So hopefully, that thing about the shower was all part of your joke?!”

Peter looked horrified. “You HEARD THAT?!” 

Janine’s face paled. “You’re not serious?!”

Peter burst into a fit of laughter. “Of course that was part of my joke! I don’t have the hots for you! Spengs does!” He couldn’t stop laughing. 

Janine took a deep breath, then looked at Ray. “I haven’t really seen you the last few days. I assume you weren’t part of this joke?”

“I knew about it, but I didn’t want to get involved,” Ray admitted. He looked like he might pee himself any minute. 

“Could I please have a moment with Egon - ALONE?” Janine asked as she stood up. 

Everyone quickly exited the lab; Winston gave Egon a thumbs up and closed the door. 

Janine paced the floor for at least two minutes gathering her thoughts. Egon had stood and was nervously waiting by the lab window for her to speak. 

She had stopped pacing and was standing still on the opposite side of the lab, staring at the floor. “Why Egon? Why did you agree to play such a prank on me?” Her voice was cracking, her emotions clearly at an all-time high point. “I never expected that from you. I mean, I’ve heard the stories from your college days with Peter. But, I never expected to be the butt of one of your pranks.” She then turned to face him. “And to use my FEELINGS that I have for you AGAINST ME?! HOW COULD YOU?!” Tears ran down her face.

Egon felt horrible. He decided the best thing to do now was to be brutally honest. He slowly approached Janine but still kept his distance, stopping a few feet away from her. “Janine, I deeply apologize for the part I played in this. What Ray said was true; we didn’t tell you about the possible side effects because we didn’t anticipate there being an electrical problem while running the test. But, we should have warned you just the same.”

“Why didn’t you?” her voice was raw with emotion.

“What Peter said was true; I do have feelings for you. I have for a while. But I’ve just been so nervous about telling you. While you do flirt with me on a regular basis, I wasn’t sure if that’s all it was? Or if you truly have feelings for me, too? We have such a wonderful friendship and working relationship; I was afraid to mess that up. If I admitted my feelings just to find out that you didn’t feel the same way, that would have made working here awkward for both of us.”

Janine had slowly calmed down as she listened to Egon’s explanation. She had to admit to herself that he had a point; she had only flirted. She had never been honest with him either. “You’re right; I’ve flirted with you for a long time, but I’ve never told you the real truth. I love you, Egon. I’ve loved you for a while. I just never thought you felt the same way. I thought maybe I wasn’t good enough. Then, when I realized I could hear thoughts, I figured I could use it to my advantage. Maybe I could find out what really is holding you back or how you really feel about me? But I should’ve been honest, too. I’m sorry.”

Egon stepped closer to her, taking her by the hands. “I’m sorry, too. And I love you. How do we fix this?”

Janine smiled. “Well, is that dinner offer still good?”

“As a matter of fact, it is,” he replied with a warm smile. 

She tiptoed and kissed him on the cheek. But as she was starting to pull away, Egon gently grabbed her arm, holding her in place. He leaned in and kissed her on the lips. 

They stood, forehead against forehead, after the kiss. “I love you,” he whispered. 

“I love you, too,” Janine replied softly. 

“I’ll make reservations for tonight if that’s ok?” He asked. 

“Yeah, that’d be great!” Janine said. “I’ll see ya later.” She turned to leave the lab but then stopped, turning back around to look at Egon. “By the way, what you were thinking when we went to lunch yesterday - the four post bed? Was that true?” 

Egon smiled, blushing. “Not at all! That was Peter’s suggestion. He’s been trying to help me gather the courage to talk to you about my feelings. When we realized you may have the ability to hear our thoughts, he pushed me to do that. Just as part of his joke. Trust me, I do not entertain that way.”

“Hmmm, Good; neither do I. What gave it away that I could hear your thoughts?”

“While we were out on calls earlier. Ray had mentioned it since both he and Slimer had experienced it. When you were taking the aspirins in the kitchen, I had just thought about asking you out. Then you returned to the kitchen suggesting it. I thought it may have happened. Peter came up with this prank on the way back from the call. At first, I had said no, but then thought I’d try it. I’m sorry.”

“No problem! I’ll see ya later!” She happily left the lab in much higher spirits. As she came down to her desk, she saw Peter sitting at her desk with his feet propped up. 

“Uh oh! I’d better be on my best behavior! No naughty thoughts!” he teased. 

Janine smiled. “I’m not focusing on that, Dr. V. Now that everything between me and Egon is out in the open, there’s nothing you can do or say that can ruin my mood!”

Peter grinned as he removed his feet from her desk and stood up. He held her chair for her as she sat down. “Here you are, m’lady!”

“Thank you. Now go, let me get some work done.”

Peter was on his way over to his desk when Janine stopped him. 

“Dr. V? I’d like to thank you. For helping Egon talk about his feelings?”

“You bet! Glad it all worked out!”

Janine’s smile turned into an evil smirk. “But whatever happens between me and him in the bedroom is none of your business! Whether we prefer romantic or kinky, it’s NONE of YOUR business!”

“Yes ma’am; understood!” he replied with a mock salute. 

“It’s also a good idea to not piss off the woman who lines up the restaurants you take your dates to and who places the orders for the flowers.”

“Very true. I’ll remember that,” Peter said. 

Janine just grinned as she could hear Peter’s thoughts. 

“I’ll be glad when the next two days are up. Then she’ll be back to her regular pain in the ass self.”

“Yeah but I’m YOUR pain in the ass!” she yelled. 

Peter just grinned. “Gonna be a long two days.”


End file.
